Pumpkin Soup from Scratch

Now that there is snow on the ground, nothing is better than a warm bowl of soup. I got brave and decided that I would make pumpkin soup, made-from-scratch. Yes, I know. A lofty goal for a beginning cook, but never the less I made my attempt. If you want to make pumpkin soup, give yourself a few hours to prepare the meal. Cooking fresh pumpkin can take a while. Also, this soup is very rich. It would pair nicely with a leafy salad and some turkey or chicken.  I do not suggest eating  this pumpkin soup as the main course. Finally, make sure you have a nice food processor or blender. I used my hand-held blender, which worked out fine, but it would have saved time if I had a super-duty smoothie blender.

Recipe:

2 Pie Pumpkins (You need about 5 cups of cooked pumpkin)

1 Quart Chicken or Vegetable Stock

½ Cup Heavy Cream

½ Cup Maple Syrup

1 Teaspoon Nutmeg

Dash Ginger

Topping:

Roasted pumpkin seeds

½ Cup Heavy Cream

Salt and Pepper to taste

Set oven to 400 degrees. Cut pumpkin into pieces.  Clean the pumpkin and lay on a baking sheet. Bake for about an hour or when pumpkin is soft. (I tested this by stabbing the pumpkin with a knife.) Remove pumpkin from oven and allow to cool.

While cooling, in a large pot mix broth, cream, maple syrup nutmeg and ginger.

When pumpkin is cool, cut the pumpkin flesh away from the skin. Put into blender.  (if needed, take a ½ cup of the stock to help it blend a little easier.) Blend all pumpkin until smooth. Place blended pumpkin in the large pot and mix. Heat until warm.

Top the soup with roasted pumpkin seeds and a bit of cream.